On October 14, 2020 In a bid to reduce air pollution, Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister(CM) of Delhi launched ‘Red Light On Gaadi Off’ Campaign. Under this antipollution campaign, people will be encouraged to turn off the engines of their vehicles while waiting at traffic signals.
Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) issued directions to ban the use of diesel generators in Delhi from October 15, 2020 under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
Points to be Noted
i.Experts suggest that, even if 1 million of around 10 million vehicles registered in Delhi follow the campaign, it can reduce PM(Particulate Matter) 10 emissions by 1.5 tonnes a year and PM 2.5 emissions by 0.4 tonnes a year.
ii.A car, on average, spends about 15-20 minutes idling(waiting at a traffic signal with engine on) per day, that exhausts at least 200 ml fuel. Experts suggest that a person can save Rs 7,000 per year by avoiding it.
Key Info
i.On October 14, 2020 Prakash Javadekar, Union Environment Minister stated that only 4% pollution is due to stubble burning in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), while the remaining 96% is due to local factors like biomass burning, garbage dumping, etc.
ii.He flagged off 50 Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) inspection teams for field visits in Delhi-NCR.
Delhi’s Air Quality
i.As per the government-run monitoring agency System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research, on October 15, 2020 The overall Air Quality Index or AQI was 326 at 3.30 pm in Delhi.
ii.This indicates a ‘very poor’ condition that poses a risk of respiratory problems. Over the last 5 years, Delhi has slashed the pollution levels by 25%.
DPCC issued directions to ban the use of diesel generators in Delhi
Delhi and the neighboring states have been directed by the Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) to implement air pollution control measures under ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ category air quality of GRAP from October 15, including
a ban on the use of diesel generators, except for emergency activities.
In this regard, DPCC has issued directions to ban the use of diesel generations.
About Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)
i.It was formulated in 2016 for Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
ii.It includes the measures that will be taken by various government agencies to prevent the air quality of Delhi-NCR from deteriorating and also to prevent PM10 and PM2.5 levels to go beyond ‘moderate’ national AQI category.
Additional Info
Delhi CM has recently launched a new scheme to tackle the menace of stubble burning.
Under this scheme, Delhi farmers are being provided with a decomposer solution that will decompose the stubble without emitting the harmful emissions in the atmosphere.
Recent Related News:
On July 27, 2020 the Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal launched a free website http://jobs.delhi.gov.in named ‘Rozgaar Bazaar 2020’ via video conference. The portal connects the job seekers and the recruiters on one platform.
Aim- To boost the economy and employment in Delhi.
About Delhi:
UNESCO Heritage site– Humayun’s Tomb, Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Red Fort Complex
Airport– Indira Gandhi International Airport
